At their peak in the Late
Jurassic, packs of flesh-eating Allosaurus roamed throughout much of North
America, Africa, and Australia. A pack of hungry, thirty-six-foot-long,
two-ton carnivores arriving on the scene is enough to frighten herds of
larger dinosaurs. A pack of Allosaurus will cull the weak, sick, or young
members out of a grazing herd of Apatosaurus or Stegosaurus. The Allosaurus
pack works together to make the kill and protect themselves from the rest
of the prey's herd.

Its larger and more famous
cousin, Tyrannosaurus Rex, sometimes overshadows the Allosaurus--even
the name Allosaurus means "other lizard." Both of these hunters are members
of the Theropod or "Beast Foot" order of dinosaurs. Although shorter than
the T. Rex in length, the Allosaurus stands just as high as its cousin.
Because Allosaurus will work together as a pack, they can prey on even
larger dinosaurs then the T. Rex. Moreover, the smaller Allosaurus can
run much faster than their heavier relatives, allowing them to capture
swifter and more agile prey.

The Allosaurus has a huge
head with knobs and small horns over the eyes. A hinged jaw allows the
Allosaurus to take huge bites with its sharp and narrow teeth, useful
for bringing down its prey and consuming it afterwards. The Allosaurus
has an unusually strong neck for a predatory dinosaur in order to support
its powerful head. The supporting bones of its neck curve in the shape
of an S. Allosaurus is a bipedal dinosaur, walking upright on its two
massive legs. It arms are short in order to maintain balance. However,
each arm has three razor-sharp six-inch claws, so they are not useless
appendages.

The long tail of the Allosaurus
is very stiff and heavy, so that it can be used to balance the creature's
massive head. This permits Allosaurus to travel quickly in pursuit of
prey. Each of the heavy legs has three big toes that serve to support
its weight, and a tiny back toe with a sharp claw. This extra claw combined
with the size and weight of its legs makes this dinosaurís kick something
best avoided.